Amusement device.



' L. w. PABER. V

. AMUSEMENT DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 14, 1909.

'PatentedJan.10 ,1 911.

- WITNESSESi 'ATTORNEY no'rnn'n w. FABER, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

7 Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J an, 10, 1911,

Application filed January 14, 1909. Serial No. 472,204.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOTHAR W. FABER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amusement Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to amusement apparatus and depends upon the confusion which results when a person attempts to perform, by reflected light, operations which he is accustomed to performing by direct vision.

The invention involves the provision of a writing surface and a mirror adjacent thereto such that a person may write or draw upon the writing surface while seeing only the reflection of the surface and the matter which he has written or drawn thereon in the mirror. In order to preclude the user of the device from seeing the writing surface, a suitable screen is provided in position to cut off the writing surface from the users view while not obstructing his View of the mirror. Preferably, the mirror and screen are arranged at opposite edges of the writing surface and lie substantially at right angles thereto and the screen is of such height that when the user has the device before him in the position he would ordinarily assume while writing or drawing upon the writing surface, the screen will just hide the writing surface from his view while permitting him to see the mirror over the upper edge of the screen. The writing surface may be of any suitable character, as, for instance, a slate, a sheet of celluloid or one or more sheets of paper. The mirror also may be made in any suitable manner though it is preferably a piece of sheet-metal nickel-plated so as to give a good reflection.

In using the device it is placed upon a table or other support with the writing surface flat upon the table and the screen and mirror standing vertically at opposite edges so that the user is unable to see the writing surface but can see its reflection in the mirror. He then endeavors to write or to draw a given design upon the writing surface watching the reflection of the matter written or drawn in the mirror. When drawing thus, the user of the device will always try to use the mirror to aid him in positioning his pencil upon and guiding it over the writing surface and the result of his efforts is always grotesque.

In order to produce the device in an at- .tractive form and one in which it may be conveniently used and transported, the screen and mirror may be hinged to opposite edges of the writing surface and adapted to ifold' down upon the latter. Also a brace jmay be provided for properly positioning fthe mirror when the device is in use and gsteadying it in that position, the brace being jadapted to fold down upon the other parts fwhen the device is not in use.

I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows the device in perspective open for use, Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional and plan views respectively of the same, and

Fig. 4 is an end view with the parts folded.

Referring to these drawings, 1 indicates a writing surface, here shown as a small pad of paper secured to a suitable backing 2. Hinged to one of the lateral edges of this is a mirror 3 consisting of a nickel-plated sheet-metal plate. Hinged to the opposite edge of the writing surface is a screen 4 which may be a piece of card-board 0r stiff paper. The hinging together of these parts may be effected by employing strips of flexible material 5 and cementing these to the edges to be joined.

In order to position the mirror at a right angle to the writing surface and steady it in that position, a brace 6 may be provided, this consisting of a piece of stiff paper glued to the top sheet of the pad and creased so that it may lie flat upon the pad or be turned upwardly to provide an edge against which the mirror may bear. If desired the mirror may have a tang or projection thereon as shown at 7 to hold brace 6 in its upright position. The screen 4 may have a piece of paper secured to its outer face on which may be printed any suitable design which is to be reproduced upon the pad As shown in Fig. 4, the parts may be folded one upon another so that the whole device occupies but little space when not in use.

When the device is in use the writing surface rests upon a table while the screen and mirror stand vertically as shown in Fig. 1 and it will be observed that the screen hides the writing surface from view but does not obstruct the view of the mirror and the user is dependent upon what he sees in the mirror to guide him in reproducing the drawing upon the pad.

adapted to be folded upon the third, the middle one of said flaps having a Writing surface on its inner face, one of the end flaps having a mirror on its inner face and being adapted to be positioned at substantially a right angle to the Writing surface, and the 1 other of the end flaps being adapted to be positioned at substantially a right angle to the writing surface to serve as a screen therefor and having a design upon the outer face thereof, substantially as set forth.

2. An amusement device consisting of three flaps, two of which are flexibly connect ed to opposite edges of the third and'adaptled to be folded upon the third, the middle one of said flaps having a Writing surface on its inner face, one of the end flaps having a mirror on its inner face and being adapted to be positioned at substantially a right angle to the Writing surface, and the other of the end flaps being adapted to be positioned at substantially a right angle to the Writing surface to serve as a screen therefor and having a design upon the outer face thereof, and a brace coaeting with the flaps having the mirror and writing surface thereon to position them relatively, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 7th day of January, 1909.

LOTHAR W. FABER. Witnesses:

G. Snnmzrr, RAMON 0. JENNINGS. 

